Having already moved through drill, Afrobeats and trap-inflected shaabi, he treats range itself as the argument.
Having previously experimented with drill, Afrobeats and trap-infused Shaabi, Showkey takes another sharp left turn on ‘Malcolm X’, diving into rage rap. Throughout the record, he positions himself as an artist whose success across multiple sounds gives him the freedom to move between styles, with references to Playboi Carti, widely credited with shaping the modern rage sound, as Showkey argues that others imitate while he reinterprets.
The title itself doubles as a piece of wordplay. Malcolm X famously adopted the “X” in place of his surname to represent his lost African ancestry, while Showkey flips that symbolism into the phrase “putting an X on” his competition. Beyond the lyric, Malcolm X has long remained one of hip-hop’s most referenced political figures, appearing in the work of artists ranging from Public Enemy, Ye and Kendrick Lamar to regional acts including Arabian Knightz and Flenn. Here, Showkey borrows that symbolism to match the track’s uncompromising energy, using it as a declaration of independence while reinforcing the song’s central message through a one-shot drone visualizer.
